‘A time of great uncertainty’: Dr Bonnie Henry reflects on 6 years since Covid restrictions began

This was the time in 2020 when everything changed.

Businesses were closing, people were working from home and public health officials were advising people to stay away from each other as a new virus spread rapidly in B.C.

Dr. Bonnie Henry became a household name. BC’s provincial health officials connected daily with then-Health Minister Adrian Dix to share what little data was available.

And while we know more now, Henry says there are still unknowns about the long-term effects of COVID-19, as well as other geopolitical uncertainties affecting people around the world.

“Most people rely on each other and are able to support each other to get through times of uncertainty,” he told CBC’s Gloria Macarenko. “These days sometimes it feels like those are the lessons we’re moving away from or forgetting.”

Henry spoke to CBC on the coast This week to reflect on a time that no one will ever forget – as much as we might want to.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you remember most about those first days of the COVID era?

I feel like in some ways it’s much longer than six years. I think at the time, and you know, I look back on this again and again, there was a lot that we didn’t know and there was a lot that we were hearing from different parts of the world about who was being affected and what was happening. It was certainly a time of great uncertainty.

What have you learned about COVID in the last six years?

We know a lot about this virus, and one of the big breakthroughs we’ve had in the global community over the last few years is testing for it, which was developed very rapidly. Our public health laboratory, which is here in the province, was able to develop a test within just a few days of the genome being isolated. We know how the virus spreads. We know who is most at risk. We know all the things we can do to protect ourselves.

Have we done enough to help people living with long-term Covid?

This is another global thing that we are still learning a lot about because we didn’t even know if there was going to be a post-Covid type-syndrome, how long it would last, who would be more likely to have it. So we know a lot about the types of syndromes, the types of symptoms that people are experiencing. Some of them have very debilitating long-term symptoms. Some of the things we know about prevention are really important. We know that people who were vaccinated were much less likely to have long-term Covid. We know that some earlier strains of the virus had a greater impact on people for a longer period of time.

Globally, we are still learning what can we do to support people? How do we know what helps people feel better? How long will this last? There are still a lot of unknowns.

If we saw a similar health emergency that required the same level of global cooperation, do you think our mindset would be to take preventive action?

It’s still very raw. I mean, it’s six years, but I think there are a lot of things happening globally at the moment, some of them related to what we’ve gone through during the pandemic. We are in that stage of collective amnesia that we see in many traumatic events – people want to move on with their lives and get away from it and not think about it. So in that regard, I think if something else comes up, we have to make sure that we’re connecting with people in a way that they reconnect.

But I also think that human nature being what it is, when we’re in times of crisis and we see it again and again, most people will do the right thing to support themselves, their families, their communities. We learned how important this was. It will remind people that we can do something and that we do better when we do it together.

You became the public face of the COVID response in those early days. What did it mean in your life?

It really messed up my life. People still come to me and sometimes burst into tears because I remind people of very difficult times in their lives. This is a disturbing thing. I’m still working on it.

Common suffering creates stronger bonds. We’ve all been through it, so we have something in common with each other. I think we need to remember, especially with what’s going on in the world today, where there is so much division, where there is war, where again there is so much uncertainty, that we have a lot more that connects us than that tears us apart.

At some point your safety was also in danger. And I’m just wondering what has changed? How would you describe the relationship between your office and the public now?

Sadly, I still receive threats. There are very few of them now, but it is much better. But there are some people who need an outlet, need a place to send that negative energy.

I’m very, very fortunate because I have other strong physician leaders that I work with now. We have a lot of things we’re still dealing with. Certainly things like measles have become a big issue again. So I think it’s important for me and my office to let people know about important things they can do, where they can get the information they need to keep themselves, keep their families healthy and safe.

Any final thoughts on six years post-Covid?

This was the most challenging time of our generation and we are still seeing its consequences. And I go back to the things we’ve talked about many times during that uncertainty: the need for compassion, the need to be kind to each other, to recognize that we don’t always know what someone else is struggling with. So those are the things that help us get through tough times and we need it more than ever. We need to speak up and support each other. We need community. We need connection.

You ‘be kind, stay calm and stay safe?’ Didn’t want to end your talk with?

That too. I still definitely believe in kindness.